Salmonella tainted HVP triggers food recalls

The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement on March 5 to alert food consumers to a voluntary recall by the Concord Foods Inc for a vegetable dip seasoning mix due to fears of possible salmonella contamination.

The vegetable dip seasoning mix subject to the recall contains HVP supplied by Basic Food Flavors Inc, which is recalling all its HVP or hydrolyzed vegetable protein manufactured since Sept 17, 2009 because of salmonella contamination.

The recalled product made by Concord Foods was distributed nationwide in the United States under the Concord Foods brand in foil pouches and sold in produce section of the supermarket, according to the FDA.

This 1.5-oz vegetable dip seasoning mix bears a UPC code 041409002066 and the label states is best used by 07/27/12.

The company is voluntarily recalling the product. No cases of illness have been associated with using this product.

However, the FDA urged food consumers to destroy or return the product being recalled for a full refund.  Whoever has any question should contact Concord Foods at 1-800-924-5775 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm EST.

Salmonella cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain in those who ingest the tainted food products.  Although the foodborne illness does not cause any chronic health impact on healthy people, those who are young, elderly and have had their immunity weakened are at high risk of developing potentially life-threatening infections.

Media reports say that McCormick & Company is also recalling some products including McCormick French Onion dip mix, McCormick vegetables dip mix, McCormick onion gravy mix and McCormick corn bread stuffing due to the fact that these products contain HVP from Basic Food Flavors Inc.

The HVP being recalled by Basic Food Flavors Inc has not been associated with any reported case of illness thus far.  Health agencies are still probing the salmonella contamination to understand why salmonella got into a product like HVP.

By Jimmy Downs